


all my particles disband and disperse (and i'll be back in the pulse)

by PilotInTheStars



Category: Ant-Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Stargazing, cassie really dislikes ballet class, flirting isn't allowed in the lab but hank's not nearby so it's ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:22:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27975094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PilotInTheStars/pseuds/PilotInTheStars
Summary: And it was sitting there when Hope realized that Scott Lang had most definitely wormed his way into her affections, even when all of her walls had seemed to be built up so high.---In which Scott and Hope work through a new relationship.
Relationships: Cassie Lang & Hope Van Dyne, Cassie Lang & Scott Lang, Scott Lang/Hope Van Dyne
Comments: 8
Kudos: 53





	all my particles disband and disperse (and i'll be back in the pulse)

**Author's Note:**

> I avoided studying for my exams by writing this. 
> 
> A special thank you to @sharknana29, who offers wonderful beta advice and is a fellow gremlin with me. Thank you! You're the best. 
> 
> Title comes from "I Want You To Love Me" from Fiona Apple because... yeah. 
> 
> _I've waited many years  
>  Every print I left upon the track  
> Has led me here  
> And next year it'll be clear  
> This was only leading me to that  
> And by that time  
> I hope that  
> You  
> Love me_
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy. <3

“So. How’s the suit coming along?”

Hope looked up to see Scott standing by the table she was sitting at in the lab. He was gazing down at the Wasp suit she had been working on. 

“It’s alright,” she said. They were still working on the regulator. Hank had gotten frustrated and walked away, leaving her to fidget with it alone. Scott had come over, after a full morning of work with Luis, Kurt, and Dave, doing his own thing. There was nothing much for him to do at the moment (Hank had taken the Ant-Man suit briefly to fix something) and deep down she suspected he might have come over just for her. 

“I think it’s going well,” Scott offered. 

“You know, it’s pretty unprofessional to flirt at work," she said, looking up at him. 

Scott rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I think that’s the rule if you’re both employees at the company. Good thing I’m self-employed elsewhere. Superhero-ing is a part time gig. And not to mention-” He looked around. “No one else is here.” 

“My dad is in the other room, which is arguably worse, Scott.”

“Hmm. Maybe. What Hank doesn’t know won’t kill him,” he said. 

Hope noticed that he had grabbed his backpack. “Where are you off to?”

“Dinner with Maggie and Paxton.” He grinned. “Wish me luck.”

He leaned down and kissed her. “See you later.”

Scott left and Hope went back to work on the suit, before she saw Hank standing at the doorway. She tried to hide the flush in her cheeks and hurriedly bent her head down to continue her work.

* * *

Hope had gotten used to living by herself, and after years in boarding school and living in a dormitory, she had found living alone somewhat preferable. The last apartment she had shared long term was with her girlfriend in college- none of her other relationships had lasted long enough to cohabit a space together. And at the time, she didn’t want them to.

Scott came over a lot now, partially because her apartment was quieter and easier for planning and also because of an incident with Hope leaving his apartment early in the morning that left her mortified for days. He didn’t talk a lot about whatever he, Luis, Dave, and Kurt were planning, but Hope had caught a glance of a paper with about two dozen possible business names scribbled on it. “X-Con Security Consultants” was currently circled with bright red ink. 

He stayed the night sometimes too, a couple times a week, working with her until eventually they both went to bed. They would both wake up sometimes in the night, usually when they were too consumed with their own thoughts and just needed to write them down or do something about them. He hummed a lot, especially when his mind was somewhere else. 

Hope woke up from Scott’s humming that night. Right now the song was whatever had last been on the radio when they’d been driving home in the evening, before she went and passed out on the couch. 

And normally if she had been working on something, she would go somewhere else, needing silence in order to think. But at that moment… it was kind of comforting. 

She sat up on the couch and he looked at her. 

“Sorry.”

Hope shook her head. “No, it’s okay.” She looked around the room and took note that he’d obviously been up for a while. “What’s up?”

Scott shook his head. “Just thinking about… Cassie right now.”

And Hope didn’t know what to say, so she just listened. 

Scott gave a defeated sigh. “I have so much trust to rebuild and I just want Maggie and Paxton to see I’m not going to run off and abandon Cassie. I want to be there, I want to be a part of her life. They’ve cut some slack on the child support, I’m working on that, but everything’s gone wrong recently, and I’m just terrified of never seeing my daughter again.”

“Hey- it’s going to work out. You’ll find a way to make it work out, you’ve been working endlessly for weeks to make it work out. You’re in Cassie’s life now.” She tried to smile reassuringly, even if she felt somewhat helpless in this situation. 

And neither of them really knew what to do, both extremely unsure, but he leaned forward to kiss her, and in the moment, it worked for the both of them. 

And it was sitting there when Hope realized that Scott Lang had most definitely wormed his way into her affections, even when all of her walls had seemed to be built up so high. 

* * *

There were new experiences all the time, some of which Hope was surprised to be included in, and internally she felt rather terrified. 

Scott had taken up the new responsibility picking up Cassie from ballet practice on Saturday mornings, and he asked Hope to tag along. 

If Cassie was anything, she was smart, and Scott and Hope’s shtick of just being friends around her was quickly seen through. She’d already been through it with Maggie and Paxton. For the most part, she seemed fine, for which Hope was glad, because she was certain she was going to fuck up the poor child’s upbringing somehow, and she’d never forgive herself for it. 

The little girl left the classroom with a scowl on her face that did not match her bright pink ballet shoes.

“I don’t like it,” Cassie said, crossing her arms, a frown on her face, as she hopped up onto the bench.

Scott kneeled down to untie her pink ballet shoes. “Why not, Peanut?” he asked. 

“It’s too slow!”

Hope nodded. “It is.”

Cassie looked up at her. “Did you take ballet?”

“Ages ago,” Hope continued. “Not for me. I agree, it’s way too slow.”

The little girl beamed. “Hope agrees.”

In Hope’s distant memory, she remembered her mother taking her to ballet lessons when she had been even younger than Cassie. She could imagine her younger self sitting on that bench and scowling too. 

Trying to be useful, Hope grabbed the dance bag as Scott took Cassie’s hand and they went out to the car. Cassie went to her carseat as Hope popped the trunk and put the bag down. She shut the door and looked around, and tried to pretend like she didn’t see the woman sitting in a car a few parking spots over, watching them for any wrongdoing.

If she wanted to be polite, she could have waved, and made a good impression. But she just walked to the car and hopped into the passenger seat, trying to not let it bother her. 

* * *

Hope had stepped away from the quantum tunnel when she received a text from Scott, asking if she could meet tomorrow night. She didn’t have any plans for the evening, except doing research and maybe staying late at the lab to monitor the quantum tunnel, but that did seem rather lonely. 

Scott met her at her apartment, and she hopped into the passenger seat and took a glance at the backseat, to see a few blankets and a couple of drinks. She raised a brow, but Scott just grinned.

“I have a fun idea, I promise.” 

They drove a good while, enough where they were decently out of the city.

“I haven’t seen the stars in a while,” Scott said, putting the car in park. “Couldn’t get a good view from prison.”

And the more Hope thought about it, she couldn’t think of the last time she had taken a moment to look at the stars either. 

You _could_ see more stars out here. She took a breath. 

How fast had life gone these past few months? Too fast, with learning of Darren’s plans, and planning the heist, and her father with his theory that her mother might be alive. Everything had gone too fast lately. 

“It’s nice out here,” Scott said.

Hope nodded. “It is.”

If you had asked her the next day what they had talked about, sitting out there where all the lights were dim and the galaxy seemed to be in full view, she wouldn't have a clue. But she remembered when they drove back, and he parked in a quiet spot by her apartment building. 

Scott looked down at the steering wheel. “I wanted to say ‘thank you.’ I know that… things have been wild with the custody cases and X-Con, but I really appreciate you.” 

And Hope really was terrible with words, specifically speaking about what she felt. She had a lot to say, that she appreciated him too, but she kissed him and said “of course” and desperately hoped he got it. 

Maybe, sitting there in her car in the completely dark spot of the vacant parking lot, they had both gotten a little handsy. Until she kicked him out of the car, because in her words, they were far too old for car sex. And most definitely when her apartment was right there.

* * *

Two exciting things happened simultaneously. Scott and Luis moved into their own apartment and Maggie and Paxton allowed Cassie to spend the night for the first time.

As soon as the door opened, Cassie bolted into the apartment and ran to give Scott a hug. 

Maggie set Cassie’s overnight bag on the ground and saw Hope sitting on the kitchen island. She gave a wave. Hope waved back and moved her arm slightly to hide the glass of wine sitting behind her on the counter, and then hopped off the counter. 

And it was when she was aware of how out of place she always felt in this role. Like she didn’t belong. 

She tried to shake it away. 

But the evening was alright. They had decided it would be best if Hope stayed for dinner, and then left. And it didn’t go poorly. 

Cassie was happy, and that’s all they wanted, and she was especially happy when Scott told her she could pick out a movie to watch. 

“Bye, Cass,” Hope said as she grabbed her purse.

Cassie waved from the couch and turned back to the movie as Scott walked outside with Hope.

And when he kissed her before she went to her car, she might have slipped in an “I love you” and hoped he felt the same way. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed. 
> 
> Comments and kudos are always loved and appreciated. <3


End file.
